Sheet-delivery apparatus for printing-machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. S C OT T.

Sheet-Delivery Apparatus for Printing-Machines. No. 228,782. v Patented June15,1880.

ull l 4 www1 f l l 8 Sheets-Sheet 2. y W. SCOTT. v Shqet-Delivery Apparatus for `Printing-lVIfmhines. No.g2'28,782. Y

P'ltented June 15, 1880.

il s* ill f 8 Sheets-Sheet' S. W. SCOTT.

Sheet-Delivery Apparatus for PrintingrMaohnes. No. 228,782. f Patented June 15,1880.

Wines-s es In ven-E01' Wait-far 500i-5% TLFEI'ERS. FHOTO-UTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER SCOTT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SHEET-DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR PRINTING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 228,782, dated June 15, 1880.

Application filed October 24, 1879.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, WALTER ScoTT, of Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Delivery Apparatus for Printing-Machines, which are fully described in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l represents a plan view of a machine embodying my improvements; Fig. 2, a longitudinal vertical section of the same, taken on the line :c Fig. l; Fig. 3, a detail view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of the transferring griper-cylinder; Fig. 4, a transverse section of the same; Fig. 5, a side elevation of one of the folding-cylinders; Fig. 6, a side elevation of the machine, taken on the back side-thereof; Fig. 7, atransverse section taken on the line 3/ y, Fig. l; and Fig, 8, a detail transverse section taken on the line z z, Fig. 6.

My invention relates to machines in which a web of paper is printed and the printed sheets severed and'delivered automatically to folding mechanism, by which they are folded' the required number of times and delivered in folded form.

The invention consists in special devices whereby two or more sheets may be gathered upon a cylinder and then transferred in a pack to the folding mechanism.

It also consists in various special devices and combinations of devices for delivering and folding the sheets, all of which will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out more definitely in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents the supporting-frame in which the various cylinders and other parts of the machine are mounted, and B B- the last set of impression-cylinders ofthe printing-machine. In rear of these impression-cylinders are cutting-cylinders B' B', for severing or perforating the printed web, thereby dividing it into sheets, one of the cylinders being provided with a cutting or perforatin g knife, b, and the other with a cutting-groove, b'.

A hollow cylinder, C, is mounted in the frame somewhat in rear of the cutting-cylinders, and is provided with ordinary transferring-gripers c. An air -blast pipe, C', running up at the back side of the machine, enters the head of the cylinder, and is extended along through it in the interior thereof to-the opposite end, and is provided with a series of small branches, c', leading from the main pipe in the interior of the cylinder to the shell of the latter, where they communicate with a series of perforations, c2, running lengthwise of the cylinder about on a line with the nip of its gripers.

A cylinder, D, is arranged a little belowr and in the rear of the cylinder C, with which it runs nearly in contact. This cylinder is plain surfaced, and is provided with a series of openings, d, to accommodate the gripers c in the cylinder C.

Just in rear 'of the cutting-cylilnilers is a pair of ordinary tape-rolls, E F, arranged one above the other. Two tape-rolls, E' F', are also arranged below the cylinder C, and in nearly the same horizontal plane. A taperoll, E2, is also mounted on adjustable arms supported on a suitable shaft on the main frame, and arranged slightly above the cylinder C and between it and the cutting-cylinders. A similar tape-roll, F2, is mounted in similar adjustable arms a little below and in rear of the cylinder D.

At the rear of the machine, and in the upper part of the frame, is a pair of tape-rolls, E3 F3, arranged one above the other, and a similar roll, F4, is arranged in about the same horizontal plane as the lower roll, F3, and just in rear of the two cylinders C D.

A series of carrying-tapes, c, pass under the tape-roll E, thence over tape-roll E', under and around roll F', over the cylinder C, and back over tape-rolls E3 and E2, movingin the direction of arrows numbered l. A second series of carrying-tapes, marked j', Fig. 2, passes over the tape-rolls F3 F4 F2 F in the direction of the arrow, thence over tape-roll E and under F', thence over cylinder D and between the cylinders D and C, and from that point they pass with the tapes e around the said cylinder C and return to the roll F3.

A curved arm, G, is pivoted to the frame at the rear end of the cylinder C, and extends down over and in rear of the upper end of the blast-pipe, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Near the upper end of this arm is a curved ange, g, projecting inward and serving as a cam, against which the crank-arm cS on the end of the shaft to which the gripers c IOO are attached works when the flange-cam is thrown up. Thelower end of this armis connected by a link, g', to an arm, h, attached to a rock-shaft, H, which is connected at one end to a valve in the blastpipe C'.

A grooved cam, G', is fixed on the main shaft, running along the back side of the machine, and is provided with a cam-groove, g2, in which a pin, g3, on the arm G is arranged to move.

It will be understood from this description that the rotation of the cam will vibrate the arm G,by which two results are effected: First, the cam g will be raised and lowered so as to act at the proper time on the griper-shaft to open the gripers, while at other times it is lowered so that the crank-arm will pass over it without touching it; and,second1y, the valve in the blast-pipe will be turned to open and shut oiil the blasts of air. These parts are so constructed, arranged, and timed that when the cam is raised to open the gripers the valve is turned to shut off the blasts entirely, and vice versa.

A griper-cylinder, I, and a creasing-cylinder, J, are mounted in the frame in rear ofthe cylinders C D and at right angles thereto, the cylinder I being provided with ordinary folding-gripers i and the cylinder J with an ordinary creaser, j. These cylinders are below the tapes e f at the rear of the machine. v

Above the cylinders I J is a drop-roller, K, mounted on arms in the usual way, which are attached to a rock-shaft, 7c, and arm k', fastened to the rear end of this rock-shaft, eX- tends downward, and is vibrated by means of a cam,j', on the shaft of the cylinder J. The vibration of this arm will, of course, vibrate the drop-roller, which is also provided with a spring, k2, attached at one end to one ofthe arms and actin g to pull the drop-roller down.

A tape-roll, K', is mounted loosely on the rock-shaft 7c, and a series of tapes, L, pass around the creaser-cylinder J, drop-roll K, and roller K', and are driven in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

Just below the drop-roller are three taperolls, M M' M2, arranged as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and around these rolls pass a series of tapes, m.

Two tape-rolls, N N', are arranged inside of the griper-cylinder I, and somewhat below the axis of the latter. A series of tapes, n, pass around the griper-cylinder I and the tape-rolls N N', as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and the cylinders I and J are geared so as to be driven in the direction indicated by the arrows in the same figure of the drawings, thereby driving the tapes L and n in the direction of the rotation of the respective cylinders.

A reciprocating packer, O, is arranged below the tape-rolls N N', and is operated by an eccentric, O', on the shaft of the cylinder J through the medium of a connecting-rod, o,

rock-shaft o', and second connecting-rod, o2, which extends from the rock shaft to the packer, in a manner that will be understood without further explanation.

A series of fingers, P, are attached to a rockshaft, p, just back of the packer, these ingers being' bent downward and forward toward the packer, and project through recesses o3 in the lower edge of the packer, as shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

An arm, R, is attached to the outer end of the rock-shaft p, and is actuated by a cam, r, on a stud-shaft at the rear end of the machine. This shaft also carries a gear-wheel, T, which engages with a pinion, t, on the rear end of the shaft carrying the cylinder J.

The gear-wheel T and pinion tare provided with teeth having such relation to each other as to require such number of rotations of the pinion to make a single revolution of the gearwheel as may be desired, for the purposes hereinafter specified.

It is evident that the rock-shaft and lingers 19 will be vibrated once with each revolution of the gear-wheel T 5 and the rock-shaft is provided with a spring, p', which acts to turn the lingers downward in the position shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings.

It will be understood, of course, that the several cylinders and rollers mentioned above are provided with driving-gears suitably constructed, arranged, and connected with the main drivin g-shaft to produce the movement of the several parts, as described above andl indicated by arrows in the drawings. The construction and arrangement of such gearing will be readily understood by any person skilled in the art, and does not require special description here.

The drawings show an arrangement of gearing which is well adapted to the purposes, though it evidently may be changed to suit different machines. n

The operation of this machine is as follows: The web of paper, having received its lastimpressionifrom the cylinders B B, is fed in between the cylinders B' B', by which it is divided into sheets either by perforating or by entirely severing the web. The sheets are fed in between the carryingtapes e f, by which they are carried along over the roller E' and under the roller F' to the under side of the cylinder D. The roller E' 'runs at a greater speed than the cutting-cylinders, so that when the sheets are perforated only they will be separated as soon as brought in contact with this roller by increasing their speed in the usual way. When the sheets reach the cylinderD they are carried up around the cylinder, underneath the tapes, and the devices are so arranged that the leading end of the sheet will meet the contact line of the cylin! ders C D at about the same time when the gripers on the cylinder() are brought opposite to the cylinder D. Now the movement of the parts is so timed that the leading end of the IOO IIO

'revolution rst sheet will reach this point when the cam gis lowered, so that the gripers on the cylinder C will not be opened. At this period of time the valvein the blast-pipe is opened, and a blast of air is consequently forced out through the branches c and perforations c2 down upon the leading end of the sheet, thereby causing` it to be carried along upon and around the cylinder D after it passes the griper-cylinder. When this end of the sheet reaches the tapes again it meets the leading end of a second sheet, and the two together are carried around the cylinder D, as above described, the second sheet imposed upon the first. When the leading ends of the two sheets are now brought to the line of contact between the cylinders U and D the air-blast will be shut off and the cam g raised to open the gripers, and the ends of the sheets are now seized by the gripers and transferred to the cylinder G, being carried up around the latter between the tapes. The gripers are operated to release the ends of the sheets either when or before they reach their highest position, so that the sheets are then carried along between the tapes to the rear of the machine over the blding-rollers, passing in between the drop-roller K and the tape-roller M. y

The drop-roller is timed to fall upon the edge of the sheet just as the leading end reaches the gage U, in front of the tape-rolls E3 F3, thereby bringing the edge of the sheet into the nip of thedrop-rol'ler and tape-roll M. The sheet will thereby be arrested and at once started in another direction at right angles to its former movement, and will be carried down between the tapes L and m and delivered to the folding-cylinders I and J, where the sheet will be folded, by means of the creaser and gripers, in the usual manner.

The griper-cylinder I is grooved, as shown in Fig. 5, on the line of the gripers, so that the tapes n will pass below the line of the nip of the latter and permit the sheet to be creased into the griper-cylinder. The sheet is carried around by the cylinder I until the gripers reach the tape-roller N', when they are caused to release the sheet, and it is taken between the tapes n andvroll N', carried over the latter, and delivered down between it and the roller N, in front of the packer.

As the fingers P are raised once with every ofthe wheel T, it is evident that at certain fixed periods one of the folded papers will be delivered in front of the packer upon the elevated fingers, thereby causing its upper edge to project above the rest of the packed papers. This operation will therefore serve to count or number the papers, for it is evident that one sheet will be folded for every revolution of the pinion t, and therefore every folded paper raised by the ngers in the pack will indicate that a certain number of sheets have been folded; or, in other words, every raised paper will be a tally-sheet, and the number of papers between the tallies will depend upon the ratio between the teeth of the wheel T and those of the pinion t-that is, if the number of teeth on the wheel is iive times that of the pinion, every Iifth paper will be eleva-ted in the pack; if ten times, every tenth paper, and so on.

It will thus be seen that two sheets are collected and delivered one imposed upon the other to the folding mechanism, by means of which they are then folded as a single product.

It will be understood, of course, that the folding mechanism here shown and described has been used simply to illustrate the operation of the machine, and that any suitable folding device may be employed constructed and arranged to 'produce any number of folds in the sheets which may be desired.

It will be noticed that the printing-cylinders, as represented in the drawings, are arranged to make a single revolution with each revolution of the cylinders C D, and consequently the sheets collected by the latter would have the same printed matter.

It will, of course, be understood that ordinarily in printing newspapers it wili be desired to impose one sheet upon another with different printed matter and in order to accomplish this the printing-cylinders must be made twice the size here represented and run at half the speed, so as to deliver two sheets of different printed matter for every two revolutions of the cylinders C D.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is adapted to collect but two sheets. It is evident, however, that by modifying the device so as to shut oif the air-blasts less frequently a greater number of sheets may be collected in one pack, if desired.

The air-blasts may also be introduced into the cylinder D and utilized to blow the sheet from this cylinder to the cylinder C, in which case the gripers on the latter cylinder would be dispensed with, or the air-blasts may be connected with a suction device operating intermittently, so as to hold the lrst sheet to the cylinder D by suction, and then blow the two upon the cylinder G at the proper time to transfer them to the latter.

The air-blast pipe may also bearranged outside of either of the cylinders, being, ofv

course, located so that the blasts of air may be directed upon the ends of the sheets at the proper point or points.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A sheet-collecting cylinder, D, provided with tapes f, to deliver and hold the sheets thereto, in combination with the cylinder C, provided with gripers c, an air-blast pipe, C', and also with air-passages to the outer surface of said cylinder C, these said parts operating in connection with each other and with the tapes and their tape-rolls, as set forth.

2. The collecting-cylinder D, in combination with the cylinder C, provided with grip- IOO ers c. and the air-blast pipe G', provided with passages leading to the outer surface of the cylinder7 substantially as described.

3. The cylinder C, provided with transferring-gripers c, in combination with the blastpipe C', the vibrating' arm G, having the griper-cani g, a valve in the blast-pipe connected to the arm, and mechanism for vibrating the arm at suitable periods to operate the gripers and control the air-blast, substantially as described. Y

4. Two sets of carrying-tapes7 e f, in combination With the collecting-cylinder D, cylinder C, air-blast pipe G', vibrating arm Gr, car* rying the cam g, valve shaft or stem H, connected to the arm G, and grooved cam G', substantially as described.

5. The carrying-tapes e f, in combination with the drop-roller K, roller M, tapes L and fm, and folding-cylinders I J, substantially as zo described.

WALTER SCOTT.

Witnesses J. M. TEACHER, ELLIS SPEAK. 

